CUPID

" Phyna!  Phyna!"

"Don't you have an interview today? " 

Her mother tapped her awake.

" Oh shoot!"

Josephina jumped up from the bed, and ran straight into the bathroom to shower.

It's been a year since her father passed away. It was just her and her mother. And they struggle to get by. She needed this job like her life depended on it. So, being late was not even an option.

" I'll see you when I get back mum, wish me luck."

Josephina hugged her mother, and made for the door. She was looking really beautiful in her black, high-waist skirt, paired with a peach colour blazer. She had also taken all the necessary documents she needed with her.

"Best of luck, sweetie. May you be favoured."

"From your lips to God's ear, mum. Love you. Bye!"

Josephina yelled, as she stepped out of the house.

The interview was for seven am, and she had just twenty minutes to get there. She quickly rushed down to get a bus, as she was already running late.

Her focus was completely on catching the bus, and she didn't notice that a car had swerved into the wrong lane. 

The driver abruptly pressed on the brakes, and all she heard, were the loud screech of the tyres, and a blinding light...

******

"Oh Sh*t! Sh*t! D*mn it!! "

Nicholas yelled, holding his head in shock and frustration.

"Oh my God, Nick. What did you do?!"

Stanley yelled, horrified at what had just happened.

"I don't know, man. She just came out of nowhere. It wasn't my fault, okay?"

Nicholas said, as if he was trying to convince himself.

He had lost hold of the steering within split seconds, and knocked a lady down from behind. 

She was lying face-flat to the ground and he couldn't see her face. Nicholas didn't get down from his car. He just sat there with his mouth hanging open, and his hands raking through his hair.

After a while, he looked to the left and right. Satisfied no one saw him because it was still early, he zoomed off.

"What are you doing?! Have you lost your mind, Nick?!"

"Aren't you going to take her to the hospital?"

Stanley yelled, In total shock and disbelief.

"Look, i can't, okay? I can't be involved in this. It'll ruin my reputation."

Nicholas continued driving, without looking back.

"What do you even mean by that? I don't freaking believe you, Nick!"

"You just ran someone over. You don't need me to tell you that it's a serious crime!"

Stanley scolded.

"I didn't mean to, man.  It was an accident. Someone else will surely find her and take her to the hospital. I know it."

He said, like he was trying to reassure and convince himself.

Stanley resigned, shaking his head in astonishment at his friend's irresponsibility.

Josephina was lying unconscious on the floor, severely injured. She had blood seeping from her head, and running down her face.

After some minutes, some few persons saw her. A kind stranger who arrived earlier at the scene, and was afraid she might not have much time, took her in his car and quickly drove her to the hospital.

******

"Hello..?"

Olivia picked on the second ring.

"Am i on to Mrs Olivia Peters?"

"Speaking. Who's calling, please?"

Olivia asked, creasing her brow at the sound of the strange voice.

"It's Gabriel, calling from the hospital. I'm sorry to inform you, that your daughter has been involved in an accident."

The caller said.

Immediately, Olivia froze and she began to have palpitations.

"I think you're mistaken. My daughter went for an interview."

She tried to reassure herself.

"And your daughter happens to be miss Josephina Peters, right??"

The caller said, as he went through Josephina's documents, and I.D.

The moment she heard the stranger mention her daughter's full name, she immediately knew that was it! Her heart sank. She literally felt her airflow being restricted, like she was being asphyxiated.

Olivia arrived at the hospital moments later, and requested to see her daughter. Upon entering the ward where Josephina was, she gasped, and covered her mouth in shock.

Josephina was placed on oxygen, lying lifelessly on the bed, with bruises on her body. Her head was wrapped with a bandage, that had blood seeping through it. It was so surreal, and she was in complete denial. Her tears began to flow uncontrollably.

Olivia walked towards the bed and knelt beside Josephina. She looked so pale, and Olivia gently held her hand.

"Hon- n-ey please don't do this to me, I beg you! You're all i- i have".

"Your father is gone, and i can't afford to lose you too. So please honey, open your eyes. Please Josephina."

She wailed uncontrollably. After a while, She decided to go see the doctor, when she met the good samaritan, who had brought her daughter to the hospital. He introduced himself to her and in tears, She thanked him profusely.

"It was a hit-and-run driver. He left her for dead. I met her lying in the pool of her own blood. How evil and wicked!"

The man said to her. She was in complete shock, at how a human being could do something so evil.

"Oh m- my G- God! "

"How can a human being be so heartless and cruel?"

"May the monster experience Karma in its full, glorious splendour!"

She said, in tears.

She was crying all over again, like her heart would fall out from her chest. When the man saw how she reacted to the gory details of her daughter's accident, he immediately stopped talking, and consoled her.

He had initially made part payment, before they commenced treatment on Josephina. The kind man encouraged her to stay strong for her daughter, and he left.

Now, Olivia was totally confused on how and where to begin. She had no money to pay for the hospital bills. No Savings, whatsoever. Lost in deep thoughts, the doctor sent for her.

"I'm so sorry ma'am, but your daughter suffered a severe injury to the brain. Unfortunately, she's in a Coma."

Olivia went numb. The whole word just stopped, and the word 'Coma' kept ringing in her head. Coma!  shaking her head, she kept screaming No! No! No! She broke down and cried her eyes out.

"Take it easy, ma'am. She's still partially alive. She only has minimal brain activity, and very reduced basic reflexes."

The doctor tried to console her.

"Doctor, please speak English." She said, impatiently.

The doctor understood her plight, so he decided to break it down in simple context, and be completely honest with her.

"It's a fifty-fifty percent chance, ma'am. She would be kept alive through hydration and nutrition, delivered through a feeding tube."

"Although, i advice she be taken to a bigger hospital. "

"One that specialises specifically in such areas, in order to guarantee her chances of survival. "

Olivia wished for it all to be a dream. Just this morning, Josephina was okay, saying goodbye to her, and now she was in a Coma.

Where would she get the money to take Josephina to a better hospital?

And what if she was unable to? She shuddered, just thinking about it.

******

Nicholas got home feeling very antsy and apprehensive. He had never been a hit-and-run driver. His conscience kept pricking him, and he began to wonder what became of the lady he had ran over.

He took a bottle of alcohol, with shaky hands, he gulped it down his throat. He really needed to get Laid. Maybe that would help. He dialed Laura's number, and she picked up on the first ring.

"Hey handsome" She sounded excited.

"You wanna do something fun?"

Nicholas asked, even though he knew what her answer would be.

"Well, of course. "

She replied almost immediately, like she had been waitin